The Covenant Breed
by Zell-Zimbane
Summary: My first fanfic, please R&R, I'd like to know what people think of it. Zell Zimbane, an engineer, teams up with beta squad to uncover the mystery of another halo. The 4th chapter is now submitted, the next one should be released soon. Please review,Thx :)
1. Chapter 01: Traitor

**Chapter One: Traitor**  
  
I was excited. The wind was rushing through my hair as we were hurtling at high speeds towards the battlefield. I was there. This is it. Energy surged through me in anticipation. Two plasma bursts hit the driver instantly knocked him out. We were out of control. The pivot mounted machine gun (M14LAAG) fired. A continuous stream of gunfire followed, in desperation I leaned over and grabbed the steering wheel regaining control of the vehicle. It was hard to control, as two of the wheels had already been knocked out. There. I caught a glimpse of our enemy. A group of ten grunts had ambushed us on top of a hill. The green plasma bursts from their guns exploded behind me. The gunfire from the machine gun stopped.  
  
"Dirk," I shouted, "What's going on? Why have you stopped firing?"  
  
There was no response. I looked back and saw the fate that had befallen my companion. Blood had been splattered over the back of the Warthog and his body was mutilated with several gaping holes in his body. I closed my eyes trying to banish the sight from my mind. How had they found us? This wasn't meant to happen. I opened my eyes again. In front of me was a covenant gun turret (Shade). The grunt operating it had already bailed and run for cover. I dived from the Warthog behind the demolished turret. I fumbled around my waist for my holster. My pistol, where was it? I saw it, laying on the ground several metres away. The only problem, between it and me was a grunt. I leaped from behind my cover at it, beating it with my hands and feet. I aimed two punches at its head and then wrestled the gun from its gruesome hands. I fired seven plasma bursts at it. I shoved the plasma pistol into my holster and grabbed the pistol. I ran back to the turret and hid beneath it surveying the scene. Most of the marines had been killed now. Only one seemed to remain, the general. General Straightler. I watched as one of the grunts walked up to the general and spoke.  
  
"General," it said in a squeaky voice, "the marines have been decimated and your cover has not been blown." "Yes lieutenant Skrec, you and your division has done well, congratulate them and tell them that they can have extra krulachi tonight." General Straightler spoke in an icier voice than he had done before. Listening to it made me cringe in fear. "Yes sir, immediately, as you request." Skrec, never turning away, hastily ran back into the crowd.  
  
Suddenly footsteps. Behind me at first and then around, coming closer. Then in front of me. Appearing in the hole I was looking through was a kashi rat. A vicious creature that will bite anything, even if it is not hungry. They are also known to carry the kashi virus, a deadly disease that first makes you so weak that you cannot move and then you suffocate as you lose the energy to breathe. A slow and painful death. In vain I attempt to scare the rat into leaving me alone but fearlessly it stalks closer. I bring the pistol up above the rat and with as much force as I can muster; I bring it down upon the rat. I let out a shriek so loud that it temporarily deafened me. I watched as the rat scattered off. The general shouted something and then several grunts began to move in on my position. I cowered beneath the turret and readied my gun to shoot the first. Sweat poured down my forehead. I was scared. The grunts advanced steadily...  
  
To Be Continued... 


	2. Chapter 02: The Brotherhood

Chapter 2: The Brotherhood  
  
I cringed. They were all around me now. I was surrounded. I steadied the sight on my pistol and aimed at the nearest head. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead and slowly rolled down my face. The shot was lined between the eyes. My finger itched nervously. BANG!!! I pulled the trigger and the grunt collapsed dead. I scrambled from the debris and ran with all my stamina to a cliff edge. I had but one chance. I turned around and fired all my bullets at the grunts. Two more died, collapsing into a heap as the others ran past them. The grunts charged their weapons and fired back. One of the plasma bursts streamed through the air and hit me full force in the stomach. The shot brought me rolling to the ground gasping for air. Somehow I managed to find the strength to get back up and keep on going. Only a few feet were left between the edge and me. I stumbled my way to it and in a last effort, flung myself from the ledge. The grunts were surprised by this but still made their way to the cliff edge and shot over the side. Plasma bursts streamed past me, superheating the air making it difficult to breathe. I had fallen forty feet before I found the control. I pressed the button to activate the anti-gravity function of my battle armour. I pressed the button again. Nothing was happening. I was now only two hundred feet from the ground. Falling. Falling to my death. I desperately searched my suit for the energy readings on my suit. I had been leaking energy!! My suit was nearly empty on power. That plasma burst had short circuited the container and opened it up. I was plummeting to my doom and there was nothing I could do to save myself. In my last few moments I surveyed the scene. It was beautiful. The stars in the endless black of space, the endless green woods beneath me, the pelican transport rising out of the forest. What!? What was that? A transport. I was saved. I called out, shouting for help. I was only a hundred feet from the ground now. Whoosh, Whoosh. Two missiles soared over my head towards thee top of the cliff.  
  
"Run away," I heard one of the grunts shout squeakily as they ran from the side.  
  
BANG! BANG! The rockets exploded on impact sending rocks scattering down the cliff face. Several hit me but none were large enough to cause any major damage. Suddenly a line was thrown from the ship and it hung loosely next to me. I reached out and grasped the lien with both my arms and I wrapped it around one of my legs. The force of my fall caused both of my arms to be ripped from their sockets. I screamed at the searing pain rushing throughout my body. Desperately I clung onto the rope with my teeth, just trying to stay alive. I hung limply from the rope. Slowly the rope was being pulled into the vehicle. My vision faded and I fell out of consciousness.  
  
When I awoke I felt a searing pain in both my arms. Again I screamed, but my mouth would not move. I decided to try and use my other senses. My vision had still not cleared up but I could hear everything around me.  
  
"Where did you find him," said the first voice. "We found him falling from a cliff, he was shouting for help just off the border." The second voice sounded slightly feminine but I was not entirely sure. "Is it human?" "We still aren't sure, the radiation given off when his power pack leaked is preventing our scans from taking any readings." "Keep him here until we know for sure. How's he doing? He looks like he's had a rough time." "He's been unconscious since we brought him in, but other than that he seems okay. There is one problem though; his battle armour has fused with his body. Don't worry, we'll keep an eye on him."  
  
I heard footsteps leading away from me. I listened as they slowly faded out.  
  
"That's strange," the feminine voice said, "I'm sure that his eyes weren't open before. It's time for your treatment."  
  
I felt a sharp sting in my arm and then again I lost consciousness.  
  
When I re-awoke my vision had completely cleared up. Remembering what I had heard I looked at myself. My body looked awful. Cuts, scratches and bruises made up what was now my tormented body. But, that was not the worst thing. My torso, legs and arms were now a strange mix of human and the battle armour. However a new power seemed to be surging through my veins. I felt different somehow. I looked around at my surroundings. I was in a steel grey cell, with my bed and a small window overlooking the stars. I had been tethered to the bed with thick metal restraints. I tried to break out but to no avail. I heard a monotone beep and then the door slid open revealing a figure in full body marine armour.  
  
"Oh, so I see your up at last. Good morning sunshine, hope you had a nice nap. You've been sleeping for quite some time."  
  
Now I know what I was going to say was a little cliché but...  
  
"Where am I?" "You're in the Omega station on a strange structure called a 'Halo'. I am a member of an elite group of marines called the Brotherhood. We have been without contact with Earth for over a decade. We want to ask you some questions, and your going to answer." She paused for a second to let me take this in and then continued, "Who are you?" "I am private Zell Zimbane, marine core 2nd division. I was an engineer." "Is anyone else with you private?" "There was, now they're all dead. Everyone. Dirk, Fex. All dead. All because of that General Straightler. The murderer. He betrayed us to them. The arsehole. We arrived on the 'Halo' several days ago and everyone was really excited. The general had arranged an attack on a major covenant installation; we were on the way when we were ambushed. Everyone was killed and I only survived because you saved me." "ALERT! ALERT! ENEMY IN THE BUILDING! ALERT! ALERT! ENEMY IN THE BULDING!" The alarm rang through the building. The marine questioning me told me to stay and then ran out of the room.  
  
I waited. I could hear nothing in my room except from a continuous screaming. Then there was a dull thud. Followed by another dull thud. Then thud, thud, thud. No noise was left. I heard large intakes and outtakes of breath. I felt adrenaline pumping through my veins in anticipation.  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
Footnotes:-  
  
Chapter 2 is completed slightly earlier than scheduled. Hope you like it ( I should have the next chapter completed by the end of next week. Oh and I agree, General Straightler is an arsehole :P  
  
From GoldEliteWarrior – Zell Zimbane, the bane of all zim's From Realm Of Chaos – Zell, a name found from a character he hates 


	3. Chapter 03: Mortus and Sanguine

Chapter 03: Mortus and Sanguine  
  
The noise rang through my head more clearly than even the alarm. CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! With each repetitive noise I struggled against my bonds trying to free myself. I collapsed again and once more heard the noise. CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! I frantically searched the room for the cause of the noise. Suddenly through the ceiling fell a gold elite. His plasma sword superheated the air around him and with an evil grin he raised his plasma sword to strike. I helplessly watched. I closed my eyes in anticipation of the blow. I just could not die like this. Helpless. I vowed that if I survived this, I would not be helpless again.  
  
"Die sucker, eat my shotgun." The shout came as someone clashed through the doors and fired a high power shot at what seemed like incredibly close range. There was a sickening noise as gore covered pieces flew across the room landing on my face and all over my body. I opened my eyes to see the carnage before me. A marine! He was standing over the corpse of the dead elite firing his shotgun as much as he could pull the trigger.  
  
"DIE! DIE! Pick on someone your own size."  
  
Various other cliché phrases followed as more holes were being blown through the elite, one at a time with each shot. When he stopped to reload the elite was nothing but a small pile of oozing gore.  
  
"Mate, ya need a hand?" the voice said, "Here ya go."  
  
The marine undid the bonds on my arms and legs and helped me to my feet.  
  
"Name's Balton mate, guy's call me Pyrrhus, call me what you like, take this pistol," Balton then continued to explain the situation, "These fucking goddamn creatures got into the base and are tearing us apart, we gotta get outta here. Follow me mate."  
  
I took the pistol from Balton and shoved it into my holster. Picking up the plasma sword from the dead elite I slung it from my belt. Never know when it might come in handy. I took the pistol out of the holster and held it out in front of me, ready to fire at anything that moved. Together we made our way through countless corridors bathed in the dim red light of the alarm and the blue blood of the covenant. Everywhere seemed quiet and deserted. Where were these attackers? After several minutes of running we reached the dock control room. We barged straight through the doors and quickly barricaded ourselves in, placing heavy objects in front of the door. I took a moment to gather myself and looked around the room. Eight other marines were stationed here. All bore the same emblem on their arm. A phoenix surrounded by flames. There were no windows in the room, just a computer console with screens above it. On the screens the hanger bay was shown. Various different views could be seen and it seemed empty. Two Pelicans sat in the bay. On one the name "Sanguine" was scribbled. "Blood," I thought, "How appropriate." On the other the name "Winged Death" had been etched.  
  
"Cap'n," Balton had walked up to the red armoured marine and saluted professionally, "Mission accomplished, ready to receive next objective." The red armoured marine seemed to sigh for a second and then said, "Pyrrhus, guard the door, make sure none of those dirtbags get through." "Yes Cap'n, and don't worry, I'll be back." Balton said the last part in a monotone voice imitating the style of 'The Terminator'. The Captain turned to me and said, "Don't think that just cause I asked for you means that I like ya private. You're gonna have to earn my trust and respect. Is that clear private?" "Yes sir," I replied. "You will refer to me as Captain private, not sir, save that for Mortus, the leader of the Brotherhood here," he indicated to the marine in jet black armour, "It true you were an engineer in your old regiment private?" "Yes Cap'n" "Our engineer died two years ago, we need some expertise here. I want you to open the hanger doors and open the door from here into the hanger. Think you can do it?" "Yes Cap'n" "Then what are you standing around for? Hop to it on the double private."  
  
I walked up to the interface and typed in my access code. The screen flashed red. Access denied. I tried again. Access denied.  
  
"Cap'n what's the password?" I called out. "Enter in seven, eight, four, dash, alpha, omega, zeta."  
  
I typed in the password and hit the enter key again. The screen flashed green once and a list of options were displayed on the screen. I scanned through the list of options, searching for security. Found it. I opened it up and saw that all the data was corrupted. "Damn it," I thought. Opening up the panel underneath the controls I pulled out one of the circuit boards indicated as carrying the security data. As I scanned the board and began work fixing it, a broad shouldered marine in yellow armour came up to me. He spoke in a deep voice. "Welcome to beta squad kid, good luck. You're gonna need it. I'm Kerron. I shot those grunts for you with a rocket launcher as you were falling, remember. That's the sort of work I do, I'm the heavy weapons specialist. The girl in the blue armour is our pilot, damn hell of a good one too. Her name is Aika. The guy in black is Mortus, although the captain already told you that. Noone here knows his real name and his background is surrounded in mystery. They say he once served with the Master Chief himself. That would be an honour. Vallen and Aart are the marines in green. They're good soldiers. Pyrrhus you've already met, he's slightly over enthusiastic. You've also met Vix, the doctor. She gives me the creeps." He looked like he was going to continue speaking, but his introduction to the squad was abruptly halted by Aart.  
  
"Jesus fucking Christ!" he cried, "Alpha squad's on the monitors and they're getting' fucking slaughtered. We can't just sit around here, we gotta do sommin."  
  
I turned away from the console and focused my gaze on the central monitor. The scene before my eyes was horrifying. I knew there was nothing we could do to save them, so I looked at the screen just hoping they would find a way to survive.  
  
Alpha squad had been backed into a corner of the dock and around them an enormous number of elites had gathered. All were armed with plasma swords. If they could just keep them back they would survive. The four marines at the front loaded their shotguns and fired round after round into the elite line. As each shot hit the covenant parts of their body just seemed to explode and the elite collapsed dead. The first elite reached the marines and with several quick slices of his sword the marines fell into strips before its feet. Other elites soon followed suit and only one marine remained. It was their sergeant. The elites marched upon him slowly, almost gloating in their victory. I watched, horrified as he clasped his hands together and began muttering something on his knees. He was praying. In his last few moments just before the elites reached him he leapt from his knees into the group. I caught a glimpse of what he was carrying and foolishly cried out, "Nooooo, its not worth it!" even though I knew it was impossible for him to hear me. The frag grenade between his hands exploded and the blast wave seemed to flow out in slow motion. The monitor turned to static.  
  
"Come on men, there's nothing we can do for them now. Lets get moving people and get out of here as quick as possible. The structural integrity is failing and the building's going to collapse," the captain shouted.  
  
Quickly I returned to the console and with a boost of energy I unlocked all the doors in the station. There was a bang at the door behind us.  
  
"They're breaking through, she just can't take the pressure cap'n." Balton shouted as he ran towards us and through the door. Everyone quickly followed as the door burst from its hinges and the piled debris scattered the room.  
  
"Keep it moving people, they're right behind us," the captain shouted as we ran.  
  
We ran through a long corridor until we reached the hanger. We scurried across the demolished room towards the Pelican.  
  
"Hop in people," cried Aika.  
  
The Pelican began to lift of the ground and we leapt into the back. The waves of heat from the engines could be seen over the floor of the hanger providing a hazy view of what was happening below. Grunts burst through the doors and ran into the bay shooting their plasma pistols at the ship. Soon after two hunters charged in stomping on the grunts to make their way towards the ship, the grunts were instantly killed in this act. What do you know? The hunters killed more Covenants than we had so far. One had armed in its hand a plasma wave gun.  
  
"Uhhh, we should really get outta here, that thing doesn't look like it wants tea and a friendly conversation," I shouted over the noise of the engines. "Aika take us out of here, go to these coordinates," the captain told Aika and handed her a data-pad. "Hold on guys we're in for some chop," Aika shouted.  
  
Just then two plasma bursts were fired from the wave gun. The huge balls of energy headed for the ship. I could feel the immense heat of their power. They were coming right for us.  
  
To Be Continued ...  
  
Footnotes: -  
  
Hope you like the chapter, please review and tell me what you think of it. If you have any cliché phrases could you please leave them as well, or Pyrrhus will run out of things to say. Sorry about the Latin added in but I'm doing my Latin A-Level at the moment. The next chapter will be posted soon. Keep reading and have fun (.  
  
Sanguine = Blood Mortus = Death Pyrrhus = Flame haired one  
  
Thanks to anyone who has reviewed my story so far, if you wish for a minor part in the story just send me an e-mail with a name and personality on it. Thanks again ( 


	4. Chapter 04: A Faint Victory

Chapter 04: A Faint Victory  
  
Just then two plasma bursts were fired from the wave gun. The huge balls of energy headed for the ship. I could feel the immense heat of their power. They were coming right for us...  
  
"Hold On People, I'm gonna try something a little risky. We gotta get back there or we're never gonna have a safe haven." Shouted Aika from the pilot seat. Everyone grabbed on to the side and strapped ourselves into the seats. Suddenly everything seemed to go upside down as we swooped around and began heading straight back at the hunters. The two bursts of plasma flew past the Sanguine and the air around them seemed to superheat. Vallen was closest to one of the  
  
"What the fuck are you doing, you're gonna fucking get us all killed, Get me fucking outa here!" Shouted Aart as he took off his straps and leapt from the Pelican, hurling himself into the depths of the forest.  
  
There was no time for consideration of Aart as the Pelican quickly covered the distance to the hanger in less than a second.  
  
"Lock and load men, we got a whole lotta targets down there and we sure as hell ain't gonna give 'em an easy ride." The Captain shouted this and chucked an assault rifle at me, which I swiftly grabbed. The gun was already loaded and the safety switched off. I was ready for some action. The Pelican mowed down the elites as it flew low into the hanger, piling up the corpses of the covenant on the front. The blue gore obscured the vision on the viewscreen.  
  
"MOVE OUT SOLDIERS, Let's kick some alien arse." Shouted the Captain. All of beta squad jumped off of the Pelican armed with their assortment of weaponry. We ran up to the doorway and took positions on either side.  
  
"Cap'n, I'm gonna move out before it gets too hot up here, we'll be waiting at the coordinates of installation 152. Keep safe Cap'n, Hoowah," said Aika over the communicators as the Pelican rose into the air and proceeded to fly away.  
  
The hanger bay was a mess. On all sides debris lay scattered, electrical wiring and gas pipes hung broken and a large mass of covenant corpses littered the floor.  
  
"Take point private Pyrrhus," said the Captain, "Move up ahead, we gotta get us to the Control room hidden below and give these scum such a hard time, they don't have the guts to go looking for any trouble again soon, we gonna blow this place and the information on other hide-outs stored within. Private Zimbane you cover him."  
  
"Yes sir," said both me and Balton.  
  
I felt a desire to speak then and ask the Captain, "What about Aart Cap'n?"  
  
"We gonna go back and retrieve that soldier private, he's gonna face repercussions on his actions though. Forget about him for now. Focus on the mission private, it's all that matters on the battlefield. Now get moving!" said the Captain.  
  
I ran around the corner back into the hanger bay control room as the blue bolts of energy fired from the plasma rifles hurtled past and burst upon the wall. One of the four elites fighting me scored a hit. Pain rushed through my body, infectiously creeping into every part of my essence. My chest felt as if a huge sledgehammer had just been swung at full strength into it. Regaining control of my body, I squeezed the trigger of the assault rifle aiming at the elite who had just hit me. The entire clip of ammo was emptied at short range, I was now only a few feet from that elite, and the others had retreated back. I watched unmercifully as the elite's shielding failed and steadily holes began to be blown through the body of my victim. The firing stopped. My finger was still gripping the trigger and pain still flowed through my body, but the clip had run out. Pyrrhus ran round the corner and patted me on the back.  
  
"WOOOO, you toasted his blue arse, GO ZELL, WOOOO" Pyrrhus enthusiastically shouted. I looked down at the corpse beside my feet. Apart from the blue blood oozing on the floor, it was barely recognisable. I released my grip on the trigger.  
  
"Pyrrhus lets go and get those suckers." I said.  
  
"Oh yeah! WOOOO! Them blue fuckers are goin' down!" Shouted Pyrrhus.  
  
Together we ran through corridors making our way to the stairwell. We were getting increasingly agitated as we ran. The base seemed deserted. Where were all the covenant that had populated it only moments before. I barged through the metal door bashing it fully open with a gun placed in my hands, aimed and ready to fire. Two elites sat on the stairs, one above, and one below. On the floor beneath me was a dead marine from alpha squad. A fragmentation grenade lay there. Picking it up I bounced it off the back wall and back up the next floor of the stairs. It landed by the elites feet. Pyrrhus watched from the door. "FIRE IN THE HOLD!" he called as both he and I leapt to the ground and covered our heads with our hands. The grenade exploded and the stairwell above blew into different directions. A fragment from the metal stairs impaled the other elite through the chest, seemingly unaffected the enemy tore out the shard and chucked it aside. He adjusted his grip on the plasma rifle and began shooting at Pyrrhus. He was pinned down behind the door. I crept slowly through the shadows around the outside of the stairs and crept up behind the elite. A precise bash with the butt of my gun brought the elite to the floor. Nothing remained of the elite above except for the blood adorning the walls.  
  
"Way to go! Go Zell, Go Zell, Its your birthday, Its your birthday." Said Pyrrhus as he joined me running down the stairs. The other marines from beta squad followed behind, they were protecting our rear. We came the bottom of the stairs; only a few grunts had blocked our way and they could not stand up against both Pyrrhus and I firing rounds of bullets in their direction.  
  
"You ready Pyrrhus, I'm gonna try to make it to the control panel in the corner of the room. Anything between here and there I'm gonna attach some plasma grenades to, when I'm clear, blow 'em to hell," I said  
  
"Sure Zell, lets go for it. I'm gonna kick arse and chew bubblegum," replied Pyrrhus.  
  
I held up three fingers on my left hand. I holstered my gun. I took down one finger, two. One. Go. I kicked open the door and ran for the console. There was one elite in my way. Pulling out a plasma grenade from my belt I stuck it firmly on the elite while it stood and almost seemed to gape like a human in surprise. I dived under the control panel. BANG! Suddenly everything shone in a blue light and my vision faded for a moment, when it came back Pyrrhus was standing over me.  
  
"You okay mate," he asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm okay, thanks. You really nailed that target, good shot!" I replied.  
  
"It was nothing, now then, lets do this thing."  
  
I loaded up the control panel and hastily rushed through the controls. Entering in the password I was told earlier, I found the self-destruct sequence on the sequence. It was activated. A loud computerised voice sounded throughout the base.  
  
"Self-Destruct sequence activated! 10 minutes to self-destruct sequence."  
  
The walls began to shake as the self-destruct sequence slowly began the process of destroying the base. The ceiling began to fall at the top of the stairwell and the fall was only stopped by the final flight of stairs. The rest of beta squad ran into the control room.  
  
"There's a Warthog in the storage facility around here. Now we can't make for the Pelican, we're gonna drive on out in that. Are you ready men, lets go!" shouted the Captain.  
  
We ran as a group through the door and through several smaller corridors. We only encountered grunts on our way and to the elite force of beta squad was too much for them to handle. We reached the door within 2 minuates without any hassle. The captain gave signals to each member of the squad. Me and Pyrrhus were going straight for the Warthog, and we were to get it up and running. Vallen was going to run in with the captain and try to take out any of the covenant that were scattered around the storage facility. The captain put his hand out in front of him. Five fingers. Four fingers. Three fingers. Two fingers. One finger. I put my rifle out in front of me and looked down the sight. No fingers. Sarge and Vallen kicked the door open and charged around the edges of the room with Vallen crying out loud a battle cry.  
  
"Today, The Hunter Becomes The Hunted" Vallen shouted as loud as he could.  
  
Meanwhile I ran straight for the Warthog that was on the opposite side of the room. The room was huge with boxes stacked up everywhere. There was a second floor above us with walkways all around the room. I heard a shout.  
  
"Look out below!" bellowed Vallen from the other side of the room as he fired his pistol into the head of an elite standing above us. The elite tumbled from the balcony and fell onto the floor below just a few feet from Pyrrhus. I continued to run as hails of red hot plasma bursts flew over my head, narrowly missing my skin. The returning fires from Vallen and the captain were deadly and on target, the covenant seemed to begin to fall from the sky.  
  
"Forget about raining cats and dogs mate, its raining grunts and jackels." Said Pyrrhus trying to boost my spirits in what seemed like a dire situation. They outnumbered us at least by fifty - one. I reattached my weapon to my belt as I reached the vehicle. I jumped in to the vehicle and Pyrrhus turned away to assist Vallen, Karron and the captain. I looked down at the control panel in the central part of the vehicle. It looked fried. I was gonna have to do some serious fiddling to get this Warthog to rumble out. I started to activate the control panel. It fizzled. Suddenly I felt something cold touch my skin.  
  
"Don't move or you'll make a nice window for our commander." He then began to speak the mysterious covenant language to someone else over his headset. I looked around. The covenant were closing us in, into a tighter and tighter circle. If someone didn't do something now, we would be trapped. I remembered the fate of alpha squad. Rage built up within me and I felt a huge rush of adrenaline through my body as every muscle became supercharged with power. With a burst of speed that surprised both me and the elite I reached back, grabbed the elite and threw him across the chamber at the wall. My aim was slightly off however and instead he crashed into a pillar only a few feet away. The force of the throw from the distance was enough to collapse the pillar and topple the balcony above onto the ground crushing my victim. The energy rush was gone and I felt drained. I could barely move without feeling excruciating pain through every limb of my body. I shuddered as I fought through the pain to reactivate the Warthog. The panel still would not switch on. I looked under the vehicle. The power supply for the Warthog had been destroyed by a stray plasma burst. I told this to Pyrrhus who shouted to the captain.  
  
"She can't do it cap'n! She don't have the power!"." Pyrrhus shouted. Inwardly I cringed. That cliché had been in use for several centuries and was still running strong. Scotty was a legend.  
  
"Vallen, collect a power pack from the crates. On the double soldier, move, move, move!" The captain shouted. I picked my pistol up from its holster and used the zoomed scope. The room was beginning to empty out of the covenant grunts. Only one squad of grunts remained. I recognised the one at their lead. It was Skrec. My vision may have been virtually zero because of the pain, and I may have been struggling to move now, but my hatred for Skrec and for my traitorous general built up within me.  
  
"Its him, the one who escaped, get him now!" The grunt cried in a shrieky voice. The marines of beta squad began to slaughter as many as they could before they reached me. By the time they were only a few feet away from me only Skrec and one other grunt remained. They had no regard for their own kind and so kept advancing even in the face of the oncoming danger. I fired my pistol at Skrec, an entire round. Only one bullet made contact. Skrec swayed for a second and then heedless of the danger continued. The final other grunt was shot down by Pyrrhus. I took a swing at Skrec who easily managed to dodge the poorly aimed attack. Skrec's attack was far more accurate and made contact with my chest. I collapsed in seering hot pain. I took a swing at Skrec's feet and hit! Skrec was brought to the floor. I was blind now. The pain had become so overwhelming that I could barely see. I leapt from the floor in the last direction I saw Skrec. I landed on organic matter and quickly punched towards it with my fists as much as I could. The creature screamed in pain as my tenuous grasp on consciousness began to slip.  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
p.s. Sorry about how long it took me to make this chapter. Thanks for all reviews and I would like to hear more from all readers. Thanks for the cliché someonewashere, would like some more from readers please. Next chapter should be out by the end of the week or the end of next week. Keep on reading (  
  
p.p.s. To Somewashere, its fine for you to post them as a review, thanks for the cliché, it got in :P


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